Chance Operations, Literary Specificity and La Monte Young: A Conversation with Jeff Jackson

The first time I met Jeff Jackson, I wasn’t sure what to expect. His debut novel Mira Corpora, a surreal and occasionally horrific coming-of-age story, had left me reeling as I read it; as it circled its narrator’s  experiences with violence, and those experiences’ effect on him, I found myself haunted. In person, Jackson is an incredibly friendly guy–affable, well-versed at discussing everything from jazz to literature in translation, and erudite about his own working process. Earlier this month, I met […]

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Dreamlike Theater, Emerging From Slumber

Last night, I walked into the empty vestibule of the Brill Building, down a flight of stairs, and into a surreal space where a theatrical work was being performed, its audience distrubuted throughout the space on a series of beds, some watching the action play out live or on monitors, others slumbering. This was Dream of the Red Chamber, where actors interacted on a series of stages, drapes dangled from great heights, and the overall effect was more than a little […]

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